Have you ever spent time falling down the insurance customer service rabbit hole? You know, when you look up and realize you have spent a lot of time on one account trying to fit the square peg in the round hole? Or maybe you’re over-servicing them because you have some apprehension about delivering them news they don’t want to hear? Or possibly it’s the same customer who comes in every month to pay a bill and stays for 45 minutes while eating all the candy in the candy bowl. Let’s face it: we have all over-serviced a customer or two, but this begs the question . . . Do all insurance clients deserve equal service?
On the surface, it seems “nice” to treat everyone equally when it comes to insurance customer service. It’s employing the old golden rule of treat everyone the way you want to be treated. While we understand that notion, we also want to challenge it. Providing outstanding service for your frequent flyers feels good, but you have to remember there is a silent customer that also deserves for us to treat them the way we want to be treated.
Unfortunately, this silent customer often gets none of our attention! They are the best, and yet all too often, agencies treat them the worst! These customers drive most of our profit; they don’t have claims or billing issues and generally just pay their bills. Whereas the frequent flyers are the ones who pay in cash, have claims and want to move their billing date every few months. The bottom line is that to truly practice the golden rule, we also need to be present for our best customers.
Common Frequent Flyer Types
Walk-In Cash Payments:
Now I have heard many times from well-established, small-town agencies about the cash payment dilemma in insurance. All the agencies who started from scratch look down on those who accept cash, but let me tell you, I have been in these agencies. It’s not as easy as you may think. In fact, some states have laws that require you to take all forms of payment. Now what we can do is make sure we routinely educate our clients about their options and notify them that they are missing the opportunity to save some money. You can accomplish that by doing the following:
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- With every cash payment, hand them a flyer with potential savings.
- Have signs in the waiting room about electronic payments and pay in full options.
- If you are remarketing them, just include it as EFT or pay in full.
- Take away the candy bowl in the front; they stay longer with candy.
- Hold incentives for the team to reduce cash payments.
Late Payments:
Every E&O consultant hates it when I make this recommendation of calling late payments. I know, why would you want to babysit your customers? The point is that you don’t babysit them! If they lapse, they have to pay in full or go on EFT. If you remarket them, it’s the same. If you have particular repeat offenders, you have to decide when it’s time to move on and fire them as a client. The problem is that good, silent customers can miss a payment, and we don’t have any way to alert them.
Claims:
In personal lines with towing, rental car and glass, small claims can add up to a big deal. You should be monitoring your claims frequent flyers and coming up with a plan on who you want to keep and, well, who may have to go!
Remarketing Requests:
These are the people who request to be reshopped every few months. This not only burns out your team but also doesn’t benefit the client. In these circumstances, let them know you reviewed their account and your recommendation is to stay.
Time Management Challenges with Walk-Ins and Low Premium Clients
In our AppX Time Management program, we talk a lot about how to handle the frequent flyers. The challenge with the bulk (not all) of the most active clients is that they are oftentimes the lowest premium. We push off a renewal review with a great client to talk about moving the EFT date for the 4th time with a low revenue client. We are now going to discuss another taboo that goes against the wisdom of classically trained customer service people — making someone wait.
Walk-Ins Can Wait:
There is absolutely no place I can think of where I get 100% immediate service. At a bank, I wait in line. For fast food, I wait in line. To get a quick oil change, I wait in line. Yet when someone walks into an insurance agency, they get immediate service, and we bypass all the silent customers who are waiting to tend to the person who walked in without an appointment. I do believe that the client should be greeted, but they can wait in the lobby for you to finish an endorsement. You don’t have to break your concentration on everything to serve a walk-in. Here are some tips for managing walk-in customer service:
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- Have a sign in the lobby that reads: For the fastest service, we recommend booking an appointment.
- Greet the client, but have them wait up to 10 minutes for service.
- If you have a productive day, meet with the client but tell them that you will need to get back to them once you have reviewed everything.
- For someone lingering, just stand up. They will follow suit.
Low Premium vs. High Premium:
When you have competing work, do the highest premium work first. Leave your low-paying frequent flyers for a bit. Remember that when you pounce on their requests, you are training them to expect immediate service. If they have to wait a bit, it will be ok.
Time Spent:
Oftentimes the low premium accounts tend to be the most complicated. You work harder and longer on them and miss opportunities with your great silent customers. Put a timeline on a task. Once that time is spent, you may have to move on.
Conclusion
Yes, it may feel uncomfortable in the beginning making a client wait or prioritizing based on premium, but remember, the greatest clients are the ones we don’t see or hear from all the time. This type of client will make you feel better about your work and workload!
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